Medusalith Amaquelin (Earth-616)
| EditorialNames = Dark Queen | Identity = Public | Affiliation = , ; formerly , , , , , , , , | Relatives = Kobar, La (maternal grandparents); Quelin (father) Ambur (mother) Azur (maternal aunt) Mander (maternal uncle-by-marriage) Crystal (sister) Black Bolt (husband/second cousin) Ahura (son/second cousin once removed) Karnak (maternal first cousin) Triton (maternal first cousin) Psynapse (cousin) Maximus (brother-in-law/second cousin) Ronan the Accuser (brother-in-law) Quicksilver (ex-brother-in-law) Luna (niece); | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = New Attilan, Hudson River, New York/New Jersey Border; formerly Baxter Building, Manhattan, New York City, New York; Attilan, Hala, Blue Area of Earth's Moon, Himalayas, Atlantic Ocean | Gender = Female | Height = 5'11" | Weight = 130 lbs | Eyes = Green | Hair = Red | UnusualFeatures = Hair approximately 6 feet in length when relaxed | CharRef = | Citizenship = New Attilan | Citizenship2 = Attilan | MaritalStatus = Married | Occupation = Former queen of New Attilan, queen of Attilan, queen of the Kree Empire, royal interpreter | Education = | Origin = Inhuman exposed to the Terrigen Mist as a child | PlaceOfBirth = Attilan Island, Atlantic Ocean | Creators = Stan Lee; Jack Kirby | First = Fantastic Four #36 | HistoryText = This is an abridged version of Medusalith Amaquelin's history. For a complete history see 'Medusalith Amaquelin's Expanded History'' Medusa was the first of two children born to Inhuman nutritionists Quelin and Ambur. Medusa is considered a member of Attilan's Royal Family. Medusa's parents elected to expose her to the mutagenic Terrigen Mist when she was an infant; the process endowed her with hair she could animate like added appendages. While still an adolescent, she began to make frequent visits to the isolation cell of her second cousin, Black Bolt, and learned to communicate with him in a special sign language. Medusa and Black Bolt developed a bond that blossomed into love when Black Bolt was first allowed out of his cell at age 18. Frightful Four When the Alpha Primitive worker race revolted, Medusa battled their leaders, the Trikon. Her sky sled crashed in the fight and she became an amnesiac wanderer, until the Wizard found her on a small Mediterranean Island, fighting French soldiers. As he was creating an evil version of the Fantastic Four, he needed a woman to join his Frightful Four. Medusa readily agreed and filled out the evil foursome as they tried many times to embarrass and defeat the Fantastic Four . Though they were unsuccessful, their exploits brought Medusa to the attention of her Inhuman family who pursued her. Soon, her cousin Gorgon appeared and chased her along with the Human Torch, who she had forced to help her. A fight between the Human Torch and Medusa awakened the imprisoned Dragon Man, who associated Medusa with the Invisible Girl, who had previously been kind to him . He protected Medusa against Gorgon and the Fantastic Four, until he later captured the Invisible Girl, which distracted the four enough for Gorgon to capture Medusa and bring her back to Black Bolt and her family. Returning to the Inhumans She soon stopped fighting her fellow Inhumans, and joined them in a fight against the Fantastic Four, who arrived to save the Torch; who had fallen in love with Medusa’s sister, Crystal. But when Crystal announced that Triton had been captured by the Seeker, Medusa gathered around her family and teleported with them to Attilan, using Lockjaw. Once there, Maximus gloated over his theft of the crown, due to Black Bolt’s “accidental” loss of his voice. Medusa and he both knew that Black Bolt secretly couldn't use his voice, as it was too dangerous, but when she hinted at this he ignored her and claimed her as his future bride. Black Bolt was not impressed by his show of power, and he tore the Inhuman crown from Maximus’ hands, reclaiming his place as leader of the Inhumans, and Medusa's betrothed. But shortly afterwards, when the Fantastic Four arrived and the Torch reunited with Crystal, Maximus fired his atmo-gun, trying to destroy all of humanity. When his machine didn't work, Medusa realized that it proved Inhumans and humans were of the same race, which infuriated Maximus. He went out of control and reversed his machine, creating a Negative Zone around Attilan that trapped Medusa and the rest of the Inhumans within the refuge, while the Fantastic Four narrowly escaped. Soon, Black Bolt was faced with no other choice but to use his powerful voice, revealing his secret, in order to destroy the barrier surrounding Attilan. Heroics The Council of Elders, in agreement with Black Bolt, later sent Medusa and the royal family back to study human society, where Medusa's own ego led her into conflict with Spider-Man. Medusa was shortly captured by Maximus, who retook the Inhuman crown and imprisoned Black Bolt and the royal family. But Black Bolt used his powerful voice, once more, and freed them to send his brother scurrying away in a hidden rocket. She briefly left Attilan on her own in an attempt to restore Black Bolt's vocal cords and again, under the Enchantress' influence, to join the Lady Liberators . When Sue Richards left the Fantastic Four, Medusa took her place. After serving with the team for several months, Medusa encouraged the Richards' to reconcile, freeing Medusa to return to Attilan as Sue rejoined the Four. Troubled Times The Royal Family went through troubled times, from banishment at the hands of Maximus to poisoning from Earth's pollution, but Medusa remained the public face of the Inhumans, the interpreter for mute Black Bolt. After Attilan was moved to the Blue Area of the Moon, she and Black Bolt were married, making Medusa queen. When Medusa became pregnant a few months later, Attilan's Genetics Council argued that the mating was unfit (due to the instability of Black Bolt's brother, Maximus) and ordered the pregnancy terminated. Medusa fled to Earth, living in the desert until the child was born. Returning to Attilan, Medusa turned her son over to the Genetics Council, which in turn smuggled him to Earth for testing. Learning of this, Medusa pursued the child; when this exposed a grab for power by the Genetics Council, both the royal family and the Genetics Council gave up leadership, though the Royal Family was soon forced to resume leadership. Currently, Medusa, the Royal Family, and the remaining Inhumans have returned to the Blue Area of the Moon, where they are rebuilding Attilan. Medusa has led an effort to bring Inhumans and humans together, beginning with a cultural exchange between the two societies' children. Beyond! Medusa was kidnapped along with other famous and infamous superhumans to the artificial planet known as Battleworld. After witnessing Venom apparently murder Spider-Man -- although it was later revealed to be the Space Phantom -- Spider-Man apparently mistook her for Mary Jane as he complimented her hair in his 'last moments', she passed royal judgment that he must undergo fifty lashes. She next superseded the authority of the Avengers' representative, Janet Van Dyne, and used the control over her hair to create a whipping motion so fast that it produced miniature sonic booms, which Venom was especially vulnerable to. While Henry Pym tried to dissuade Medusa from continuing the punishment, Venom was able to stab Medusa through the thigh. Medusa later saved the team during the sudden crash-landing of their space vessel by absorbing the majority of the impact with her hair. Eventually the team triumphed over the Stranger and returned to Earth. Medusa along with Black Bolt attended the funeral of her teammate Gravity. She gave Gravity's parents a precious statue, the highest honor amongst the Inhumans, in commemoration of Gravity's sacrifice. Silent War A growing rift between Medusa and Black Bolt had the two disagree on his decision to declare war against the United States for failing to relinquish the Terrigen Crystals that were originally stolen by Quicksilver. Medusa found herself no longer able to interpret her husband's wishes as she used to. While Medusa was issuing Black Bolt's war declarations to the Inhumans council he became frustrated and snapped his fingers to silence her, indicating that she wasn't relating what he intended. Medusa later confided to Black Bolt that he had never treated her that way before, as if she were a dog, and Black Bolt responded apologetically. Medusa later argued that Black Bolt seemed not to care that their son was being kept in isolation, and advised him that despite his orders she had gone to visit Ahura in his cell on more than one occasion. Black Bolt was angered by this and became physically aggressive with Medusa, grabbing her face and mouth to silence her. In her growing confusion with her husband's actions, Medusa found herself drawn to Maximus against her will and would visit him often in his prison cell. It was revealed by Luna that Maximus had somehow implanted a "darkness" into Medusa's mind that was affecting her actions. Later on, Medusa and Maximus shared a kiss as a distraught Black Bolt watched from the shadows. The truth was that Medusa was not in control of her actions and that she only loved Black Bolt. In the end Black Bolt was confined in prison, Ahura released, and Medusa now at Maximus' side as he assumed the throne of the Inhumans. Secret Invasion During the Skrull invasion of Earth, the Inhumans were also targeted on the moon. It was revealed that Black Bolt had been replaced by a Skrull at some time in the past. Medusa led the Royal Family of the Inhumans in making contact with the Skrulls' oldest enemies, the Kree, and in exchange for their help she offered Crystal's hand in marriage to Ronan. With the Kree's assistance, the House of Agon rescued the real Black Bolt and Ahura, and Black Bolt regained the throne. Unsatisfied with mere victory over the Skrulls, the Inhumans forged Attilan into a mobile vessel and took to the stars, vanquishing Skrull saucers they came across. The Inhumans made their way to Hala and, in a bloodless coup, named themselves rulers of the Kree. War of Kings Medusa was with the Inhumans when they went into space and forged an alliance with the Kree. When Havok, Lilandra Neramani, and the rest of Havok's Starjammers gained asylum from Vulcan and his forces, Maximus spoke out, but Medusa pushed him aside. When Ronan was wounded in battle with Vulcan's forces, Medusa stated to the Shi'ar that they had made a big mistake and vowed that they would pay. Medusa then broadcast on Black Bolt's behalf and told the citizens of the Kree Empire that they have suffered an unprovoked assault by the force of the Shi'ar. The shield that once protected their star system had fallen. During a discussion with the other members of the Inhuman royal family, Medusa stated that Shi'ar blood would spill in the next fight while trying to keep the Kree in line. Medusa and Black Bolt approved of Maximus' idea to create a mechanism to help them in their fight against the Shi'ar. Medusa ended up devastated when the T-Bomb went off with Black Bolt and Vulcan still where the T-Bomb was. While weeping in Crystal's arms, Medusa declared that they have won. Realm of Kings Medusa ended up taking control of the Inhumans following Black Bolt's death. Devos the Devastator soon arrived and ended up inciting a riot in the Alpha Primitives. The Mighty Avengers arrived and helped to quell the riots incited by Devos. Henry Pym learned from Medusa about what happened to Black Bolt and expressed his sorrow for her loss as he too had lost Wasp. Medusa and the rest of the Inhumans dealt with Dr. Vere and Zarek when they plotted to overthrow the Inhuman royal family. It later turned out that the whole rebellion was staged by Maximus on the order of Medusa who tried to stage a rebellion so that the Inhumans could defeat it and come across as necessary rulers for the Kree people. She also took her husband's place in the Illuminati when Iron Man reassembled the team in response to the Hood's attempts to acquire the Infinity Gems, although in the end Steve Rogers took 'custody' of Black Bolt's Gem at the conclusion of the crisis. Upon Black Bolt's return, the Inhumans decided to return to their original location in the Himalayan Mountains after they abdicated their authority in the Kree Empire. Forever Medusa and the Inhumans helped the Fantastic Four protect the Earth from the Kree. The Kree targeted Attilan due to the Supreme Intelligence view that Inhumans were a threat. They joined with the Universal Inhumans to defend their species. The Kree retreated when Galactus and the Mad Celestials appeared. Medusa dealt with the issue of Black Bolt having four Universal Inhuman wives presented to him. They communicated through a mind meld that reassured her of her place in his heart Future Foundation When the original Fantastic Four planned a trip through time and space, they decided to call four replacements just in case something would happen. Invisible Woman's replacement was Medusa, and the four original members indeed got lost in their adventure. Infinity The Earth heroes fight against Thanos would have major repercussions for the Inhumans. Thanos came to Earth searching for his son, and in the struggle, Black Bolt ended up setting off the Terrigen Bomb, which destroyed the floating city of Attilan. The subsequent release of the Terrigen cloud triggered latent Inhuman genes in some of Earth's population. Inhumanity With Black Bolt missing, Queen Medusa attended to rebuilding New Attilan, which had fallen into the Hudson River, and aiding the newly transformed Inhumans, dubbed NuHumans. Karnak also revealed to Medusa that Black Bolt knew that there were latent Inhumans in the Earth's population, and killed himself soon after. Medusa defeated Lash, a rogue Inhuman also gathering New Inhumans. She convinced him to stand down with the help of Lineage, who reveals that all Inhumans will need to unite to face a future war. She dealt with The Unspoken, a former king of Attilan. She refused his offer of marriage, and was captured by him when he regained his powers with a secret hoard of Terrigen crystals. He took over the city, but was stopped with the help of New Inhumans. She sent Auran and Nur to find the missing Black Bolt, but Auran was killed in the attempt by Maximus who forced Black Bolt to use his voice against her. A second attempt was more successful after Nur shot Maximus, and Black Bolt was freed from his mind control. However, instead of returning to Attilan, Black Bolt flew off after finding the Codex (the accumulation of all known about the inhuman genome). After she was subject to the inversion spell while helping the Avengers in Genosha, she returned to New Attilan with a more aggressive personality and declares war on humanity. She left Attilan after Triton and Gorgon revealed they tried to stop her. After some time alone, she seemed to recover, and returned to Attilan to help against an attack by Ennilux. . There, she was reunited with Black Bolt who had also come to help. When alone, she attacked Black Bolt for setting off the Terrigen Bomb, destroying Attilan, causing the NuHuman crisis and then disappearing without ever telling her anything. She banished him from the throne, and he left. Lineage convinced Eldrac, an Inhuman portal, to help him betray Medusa and her team. He had them sent into an ambush set up by Lash. Lineage proceeded with his plan to take over Attilan, shooting Gorgon in the back and paralyzing him, and swallowing the disembodied essence of The Capo (former head of Ennilux) to gain his knowledge. Lineage launched an attack on New Jersey. Medusa was beaten by Lash, but rescued by Eldrac who transported them back to New Attilan. Lineage was finally beaten by the explosive reappearance of Karnak from Lineage's body, which allowed Medusa to subdue the villain. Uncanny Inhumans Black Bolt had given their son Ahura over to Kang for safe-keeping during the Secret Wars, and came back to Medusa for help in rescuing him. Medusa had started a relationship with the Human Torch, and Black Bolt found out. Working together, they launched a mission to save Ahura. They confront Ahura as an old man who has become a ruthless conqueror, and kill him with Black Bolt's voice. They then travelled back in time to rescue Ahura as a child. In the ensuing battle, Ahura was held hostage by Kang but creates a psychic projection of himself to defeat Kang. The reunited family returned to New Attilan in the present. Medusa introduced Ahura to the Quiet Room, a club for metahumans run by Black Bolt. Crystal found out about the affair between her sister Medusa and her ex-boyfriend the Human Torch, and reacted badly. They nonetheless united to fight against the Tourneyman. Medusa decided to stand down after rescuing the inhuman Ulysses from Tony Stark. However, other Inhumans weren't so forgiving and Lash with Maximus' help started a campaign against Stark Industries. This brought the Inhumans into conflict with the Avengers, and led to Iron Man invading New Attilan. The attack was repelled by the NuHumans, and a truce was arranged between Medusa and Tony Stark. After losing his destructive voice briefly, Black Bolt took the opportunity to apologize out loud to Medusa. Death of X When it was discovered that the two Terrigen Clouds were toxic and could even be fatal to mutants, resulting in a disease known as M-Pox, Medusa agreed to work together with Storm of the X-Men to find a solution to this matter, which led to biophysicist Beast moving to New Attilan. Unfortunately, a group of X-Men led by Emma Frost escalated this issue when they made public the discovery of Terrigen's toxicity, accusing the Inhumans of liars, and blaming them for this predicament. This group of X-Men then sparked tensions between Storm's team and the Inhumans, taking advantage of the distraction caused by the ensuing skirmish to neutralize one of the Terrigen Clouds with the aid of Alchemy. Following the destruction of the cloud, Frost's X-Men were confronted by Black Bolt and Medusa. Cyclops pushed Black Bolt into killing him, aggravating the situation. In reality, the Cyclops who confronted the Inhumans had been a mental projection cast by Emma Forst, with the real Cyclops having died earlier of M-Pox. Storm prevented more violence by negotiating a truce between the X-Men and the Inhumans. Inhumans vs. X-Men Beast was not able to find a solution to the Terrigen poisoning, with predictions that the Earth would become uninhabitable for mutants in a matter of weeks, and so the X-Men prepared to destroy the remaining cloud. They broke the truce, and neutralized Black Bolt, Lockjaw and Karnak before attacking New Attilan. Medusa was fighting Young Beast when Nightcrawler teleported her and then the rest of her team of Inhumans (and also the Human Torch) into an prison sphere in Limbo. Medusa concocted a plan to escape the sphere, and they attacked X-Haven in Limbo, from where they freed Black Bolt. With the help of Lockjaw, they teleported out of Limbo. Medusa and the Royal family then joined the final battle against the X-Men in Iceland, where the Terrigen Cloud was going to pass by. A group of Nuhumans had discovered of the X-Men's motives to attack them, and were trying to help destroy the cloud. These Nuhumans informed Medusa about the X-Men's motive for the conflict. As a result, when the Ennilux arrived to facilitate the Nuhumans with a device to purge the Terrigen, Medusa agreed to destroy it, even if it cost the future of her species. However, Emma Frost was determined to kill the Inhumans, and called forth Sentinels reprogrammed to kill Inhumans. Both the X-MenMe and the Inhumans united to fight them. Medusa called upon Black Bolt instead of Human Torch to take her up to Emma as she realized the need to inspire her team. She captured Emma, but was knocked out by a blast from Havoc who left with her. Upon Medusa's return to New Attilan, she abdicated the throne, and enlisted Iso as New Attilan's acting head of state until a democratic government could be formed. Freed of her duties as a queen, Medusa left the Human Torch to reunite with Black Bolt. Unfortunately, they failed to reignite the flame of their relationship, but opted to remain together to keep up appearances and inspire their people. Progenitors Medusa led the Inhumans to capture Maximus, making of her last official act as a queen to sentence him to a secure facility in the stars for the rest of his life. However, little did anybody know that Maximus had actually used image inducers to switch places with his brother in the last second, impersonating Black Bolt while the real Blackagar was sent to the secret prison. The alternate reality Kree warrior Marvel Boy offered the Inhuman Royal Family hope for a solution to the destroyed Terrigen, suggesting that a future for the Inhumans could result from a journey to the ruins of Hala. Medusa decided to lead the expedition, feeling that even if there was a chance it was a suicide mission, it was her penance for compromising the future of Inhumanity. She was joined by other Inhumans, including Gorgon and the disguised Maximus. Maximus' deception was unfolded early on, but Medusa couldn't do much since the sentence meant for Maximus entailed that making contact with Black Bolt or the prison where he was being held was impossible. To make matters worse, every trace of Terrigen in Medusa's body mysteriously began reacting against her system, rapidly deteriorating her health, which was first marked by the loss of her hair. While the origin of this ailment was a mystery, Noh-Varr suggested that since Terrigen itself blurs the lines between science, magic and religion, it was possible the Terrigen within her body was acting in revenge for the destruction of the cloud. When the exploratory crew reached Hala, they were confronted by Ronan the Accuser. After defeating him, Noh-Varr resurrected his reality's Plex Intelligence using the remains of the Supreme Intelligence. Thanks to the Plex Intelligence, Noh-Varr and the Inhumans learned of the existence of Primagen, the substance from which Terrigen derived, which had been used by the eons-old race known as the Progenitors to create the Kree in the same way the Kree went on the create the Inhumans. On the Plex Intelligence's guidance, the explorers traveled to Centauri-IV to investigate the Skyspear which had landed there. After defeating a group of Snarks that attempted to steal the Inhumans' powers, Gorgon and Medusa kissed, acting on the latent romantic feelings they had for each other. The crew's next destiny was determined by Maximus after calculating the trajectory of the Skyspear back to its point of origin, the Progenitor's World Farm. The crew was attacked by the Progenitors as soon as they approached their base, barely making it alive to a Primagen deposit. With few minutes left before a horde of Progenitors came down on the intruders, Flint created a crystal pod with which the Inhumans escaped from the World Farm with samples of Primagen. However, Gorgon decided to stay behind and make a last stand against the Progenitors to buy the rest enough time to flee. As the survivors were making their way to Earth, Maximus boosted his powers with a sample of Primagen, catching a glimpse of a future in which the Progenitors destroyed the Earth as a result of the actions of Medusa and her crew. The Inhumans settled on the Moon in order to prepare for the invasion. Maximus determined that the best battleground to confront the Progenitors was the Astral Plane, since for them the Earthers' primitive minds were alien and represented a weak spot. When a group of Progenitors arrived, Reader sent Medusa to the Astral Plane, where she embarked on a metaphysical journey with Black Bolt's own astral projection. In the process, they mended their relationship and found strength in each other once again, deciding to move forward as partners but not lovers. This resolution gave Medusa the resolve necessary to make a sample of Primagen have effect on her. The Primagen restored Medusa's health and grew back her hair. A Progenitor attempted to assimilate Medusa's mind into their collective consciousness right at the same moment, leading to a backlash that destroyed them, and as a result averted any further attempts of invasion. | Powers = '''Inhuman Metabolism: Besides strength, Medusa possesses certain physical skills superior to those of human athletes. Her Inhuman metabolism affords her slightly greater reaction time, endurance, and speed than the human race's most perfect physical specimen, Captain America. *'Enhanced Reflexes' *'Enhanced Endurance' *'Enhanced Speed' *'Enhanced Strength' Trichokinesis: Medusa can control the movement of her hair as if it were countless thin appendages growing from her head. A psionic field permeates her mutagenically altered hair-cells, causing mutual attraction across the gaps between strands. These relatively small forces operate in conjunction to develop larger forces. Through concentration, she can psionically move her hair in any manner imaginable. She can snap the length of it through the air like a whip (the tip of which moves faster than the speed of sound), or rotate it in a fan-like manner. She can bind persons or objects with it as if it were rope or use it to lift objects which weigh more than she could lift with her arms. (Her scalp, skull, and neck do not support the weight of an object that she lifts: it is held aloft by the psionic force coursing through the hair.) Medusa can also perform delicate manipulations with her hair such as lock picking or threading a needle, and such complex acts of coordination as typing or shuffling a deck of cards. Although she has no nerve endings in her hair, she can "feel" sensations on all parts of her hair by a form of mental feedback from her psionic field. *'Highly Resilient Hair': Medusa possesses a long, thick head of hair, every strand of which has greater tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and shear resistance than an iron wire of the same thickness (average hair diameter: .045 inches), as well as the psychokinetic ability to animate her hair for a number of feats. Her hair, approximately 6 feet in length while relaxed, can elongate to almost twice its normal length with only about a 25% loss of overall tensile strength. One strand of hair, 2-feet long, can support 6.4 pounds, a fist-sized lock of hair can support about 750 pounds and her whole head of hair can lift about 3,200 pounds (1.6 tons). A portion of her hair must be used to anchor the rest at these greater weights, so that more than her scalp/skull is used as a brace. | Abilities = | Strength = Medusa possesses the normal strength of a female Inhuman of her age, height, and weight who engages in moderate regular exercise, Due to generations of eugenics, Inhumans are superior to humans in strength, reaction time, stamina, resistance to injury, and speed. Her hair can support more than 1 ton. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = | Links = }} ro:Medusalith Amaquelin (Pământ-616) Category:Trichokinesis Category:Royal Consorts Category:Athletic Skills Category:Diplomatic Immunity Category:Attilan Monarchs Category:New Attilan Monarchs Category:Universal Inhumans Monarchs